The Need For Speed

[PM2K]

Sweet photos, guys! I never tire of seeing fighter aircraft of all ages.

One memory which stands out for me is waaaaay back in 1990 when I heard a different sort of aircraft sound flying over my home town... we get a lot of small aircraft from helicopters to Beaver and Otter floatplanes, Cessnas, Piper Cubs, etc. so it isn't unusual to hear airplanes... but it was this particular sound which made me look up...

To see an Me-109 in flight, complete with crosses and all the coloring and markings of the sort which tangled with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. It had refueled at out local airport and was heading to an air show out west. What a sight!

Later that year at the Toronto CNE, I caught the flypast of a Lancaster bomber escorted by a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a pair of Mustangs... commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Sweet year for certain!

[water_bug_62208]

Had one here last year in fact, didn't happen to catch it with the A-10's however as they did their formation flights over the base itself exclusively

A P-47 flying with an F-4 works just fine. Thanks for sharing!

[nachtjaeger]

Quite a few years ago, I was luckily enough to attend a B-17 fly-in at Geneseo, NY (briefly home to the National Warplane Museum.) All but 2 of the flying B-17s were there, and a bunch of other cool planes. There was a "dogfight" between a reproduction Zero and a Hellcat. You should have heard the crowd when the Zero disappeared behind some trees trailing smoke and an explosion (pyro) appeared. When the B-17s did their fly-by in formation, the little pebbles on the ground danced. No guessing how "Aluminum Overcast" got its name. The annual air show used to include a "Pumpkin Drop", but as this one was in summer it became a "watermelon drop." Yep, just an old bed sheet laid out in an empty field, and bomber pilots trying to "shack" it with watermelons.
I really should scan some of those pictures and post them.

Sweet photos, guys! I never tire of seeing fighter aircraft of all ages.

One memory which stands out for me is waaaaay back in 1990 when I heard a different sort of aircraft sound flying over my home town... we get a lot of small aircraft from helicopters to Beaver and Otter floatplanes, Cessnas, Piper Cubs, etc. so it isn't unusual to hear airplanes... but it was this particular sound which made me look up...

To see an Me-109 in flight, complete with crosses and all the coloring and markings of the sort which tangled with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. It had refueled at out local airport and was heading to an air show out west. What a sight!

Later that year at the Toronto CNE, I caught the flypast of a Lancaster bomber escorted by a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a pair of Mustangs... commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Sweet year for certain!

[schlamm]

*

[Billie Bonce]

http://rutube.ru/tracks/2901030.html
Watch and listen! My very rough translation is below

Yak the Fighter. by Vladimir Vysotsky

I'm Yak the fighter
My motor jingles,
Sky is my abode,
But the one that sits in me,
Believes that he is a fighter.

In this battle, I shot down Junkers,
I did to him what I wanted.
And the one who sits in me,
Pretty boring to me.

In the last battle I was pierced right through,
The mechanic darned me,
But the one that sits in me,
Again forces me to enter the spin.

The bomb from a bomber brings
Death to an aerodrome,
And it seems stabilizer sings:
"Pe-e-e-e-e-eace to your home!"

A Messerschmidt comes to me from behind,
I'll flee - I'm tired of the wounds.
But the one that sits in me,
I see - he decided to ram!

What he does! Now be a blast! ..
But I won't burn on the sand -
Exceeding all bans and speeds,
I recover from dive.

I'm the lead, and behind... Hell!
Where is my wingman?
He began to fume, dived and sang:
"Pe-e-e-e-e-eace to your home!"

And the one that in my skull
Left alone and got in trouble.
He tricked me, and entered the dive
Straight from the loop.

He tugs the yoke, and the load is double.
Oh, look at this pilot the ace!
And once again I must obey
But it's the last time.

I won't be submissive, I swear!
I'd better would lie on the ground.
Why, he does not hear how frantic is the pulse -
Gasoline - my blood - is at zero!

Patience of machine has the limit
And it has expired.
And the one who sat in me,
Suddenly pressed his face into the glass.

Killed! Finally! I fly light,
Burning my last power.
But ... how is it that? I'm deep in the dive
And I can not recover!

It's a shame that I couldn't do much myself,
So let another be lucky!
It turns out, I also finally sang:
"Pe-e-e-e-e-eace to your home!"

Peace to your home!

[nachtjaeger]

Indeed. Just a handful of them flying over that little aerodrome was an impressive sight.

Actually spoke with the crew of 'Aluminum overcast' and it was explained that the numbers of bombers over a target were to be so great that they would cast a shadow on the land below, hence 'aluminum overcast' was a reference to the huge number of planes blotting out the sun as they flew to whatever target they were enroute to.

[kham]

May be an old one, but too amusing to miss

Torpedo Launch!

[kham]

Lost Dogfights! episode found

The F6F Ch 1
Ch 2
Ch 3
Ch 4

[schlamm]

*

[kham]

Lucky fella, but better in a Hog than anything else - it probably much better handling at low airspeeds.

Looks like he's got the boards out there, and still carrying a bit of practice ordnance too. Nice shot
Remember though, when those rare shots come by, you gotta smack yourself in the head and 'press the damn button!' as it were